A sports fan’s guide to MTV’s ‘The Challenge,’ the next best thing to actual sports

Your guide to a sport that’s actually coming back this week.

Sports fans: if you haven’t become a die-hard of the long-running MTV reality competition series The Challenge, now is the time to do it.

For years, I’ve been covering the show like a sport, because it should be counted as one. Each week here at For The Win, we do power rankings of the players/pairs/teams involved. And with a new round coming this Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET — this one’s called The Challenge: Total Madness — I figured it’s a good time to prepare non-Challenge fans in need of some sports content to watch.

Here’s your sports fan guide to the show:

What is The Challenge?

Over two decades ago, MTV took some personalities from The Real World and Road Rules and put them into teams that competed against each other. From there, the series grew into its own, standalone competition show, with rookies who would come in — later, from other reality shows — and attempt to win money.

Oh, yes, I forgot. Winners of every season win money! That’s the goal! These days, it’s a million dollars at stake, whether it’s for the individual winner, duo or team.

What’s the format?

It changes season to season. It could be one team versus another team of competitors. It could be pairs. And — in the case of Total Madness — it’s every Challenge contestant for his- and herself.

Each week, the competitors are given a game to play. The winners of that challenge usually benefit in some way heading into a form of elimination vote, which sometimes involves the losing team or player.

Players are eventually sent into an elimination and the loser of that head-to-head matchup goes home.

And this is a sport?

IT IS! Just look at this elimination bout from last season’s War of the Worlds 2

You’d better believe that’s sports. And the finals are always brutal:

It’s not just the physical stuff, whether it’s swinging, pulling, pushing, running, throwing, etc etc. It’s also a mental and social game — who do you align with to help you get through? How do you get through the minefield of politics that people play? Definitely sports!!!

Who are the people who participate in the show?

They’re a variety of personalities — some return season to season while others take time off before returning — who have first appeared on shows including The Real World, Are You the One?, American Ninja Warrior, Big Brother and Geordie Shore. The most famous of them all is Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio, who is set to appear in his 20th season and has won six Challenge titles. He’s been able to combine the physical prowess, mental chess and political power necessary to navigate through and win, although in recent years, the tables have turned with younger players targeting him knowing he’s the GOAT.

There are other legends playing this season including CT Tamburello, who once did this to Johnny:

Yeah, seriously.

There are, of course, little storylines about their relationships that I would need about an hour to fill you in on. There are people who have dated and broken up, competitors who have gotten married, those who have been double-crossed, and so on.

And it’s all hosted by BMX rider TJ Lavin, who gives competitors their instructions for their challenges and shames anyone who quits, among his many duties.

What’s the deal with this season?

It’s an “everyone plays as individuals” season, and here are the first five minutes of Wednesday’s premiere:

There’s also a twist we’ve never seen before: over the years, we’ve seen competitors avoid elimination and make it through to a final. Not this year!

That’s a pretty big deal and changes the mentality of how to play the game.

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